


This Is Not

by merryghoul



Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: F/M, Harlequin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-17
Updated: 2013-03-17
Packaged: 2017-12-05 13:42:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/723926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merryghoul/pseuds/merryghoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Donna goes to the Tribeca Ball as a favor for Harvey, but she secretly wants her wildest dreams to come true.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This Is Not

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the summary for [A Night of Living Dangerously.](http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=25742)

Donna twirled an invitation between her fingers as she walked into Harvey's office. 

"Another charity ball again, Harvey?  Guessing by the lettering and the timing, it's the Tribeca Ball."

She put the invitation on Harvey's desk.

"It is."

Harvey opened the invitation.  "It is."

"You want me to mark down the Donor Duo package and two Champion tickets for the studio tours."

"For the art."

"If a gin martini is art, then yes, for the art."

"Actually, Donna, mark me down for one Donor Dinner Ticket and one Champion ticket."

"You don’t have a date.  That means I don't circle in 'Please seat an artist as my dinner guest' either."

"Yeah, I've called all of my exes.  They said no."

"You never take me to the Tribeca Ball."

"I didn't think you'd be interested."

Donna scoffed.  "For the chance to get unlimited amounts of booze and a possible Bill Clinton sighting?  I wouldn't miss it."

Harvey nodded.  "Okay.  The Donor Duo tickets and two Champion tickets."

"I'm picking out a dress in my head.  Cocktail-length and plain enough that I won't be seen on Guest of a Guest the next day.  See you April 16."

"Oh, and Donna?"

"Yeah?"

"You have to be careful of HuffPo.  They do fashion recaps too.  I guess it's because of the B-list celebrities that are there."

"How do you know that?"

"I got lost on my way to the sports section."

Donna left Harvey's office in a hurry, her heart beating rapidly.

 

Donna had her shoes picked out for the Tribeca Ball well before it started.  She kept a pair of high-heeled black Burberry sandals in her closet, a secret splurge purchase she had told no one at Pearson Hardman about. 

The dress, however, was a different matter.  Donna settled on Vera Wang for her dress days before the Tribeca Ball.  It had taken her a while to pick out a designer.   Like she had told Harvey, she wanted something stylish but not tacky.  Not overly subdued and not anything ornate or elaborate.  This Tribeca Ball could be the last fancy, celebrity-filled ball she went to.  This could be the last ball she attended with Harvey.

She blinked her eyes as she walked around the Vera Wang store on Mercer Street.  _I'm doing this because Harvey doesn't have a date for the ball,_ she thought.  _I'm not attracted to him at all._

She was lying to herself and she knew it.  She believed what she was thinking anyway.   It was the professional thing to do, after all.

Donna walked around the store, going around its mannequins and saw a green dress on a mannequin.  She waved down a store associate and pointed at the mannequin's dress.  "I want that.  I don’t care if you have to strip the mannequin naked right now.  Give it to me."

 

Donna arrived without Harvey at the entrance to the Tribeca Ball as it was opening up its open bars.  She waited outside for him for about 15 minutes before he showed up.

Harvey blinked when he saw Donna.  "I didn't know you did fashionably early."

"It's not like you to be fashionable late, Harvey."

"My cab was caught in rush hour traffic.  I'm sorry.  You look lovely tonight." 

"Thank you."

 _Am I blushing?_ Donna thought.  _I'd better not be._

Harvey offered his arm to Donna.  "Shall we go inside and have cocktails until dinner is served?"

 "After you, Mister Specter."

The two of them walked to the ticket booth.

"Harvey Specter.  I should have tickets for cocktails and dinner."

 

Everywhere in the New York Academy of Art was pulsing with activity.  Around every corner there were artists working on their latest pieces or models showing off sponsored wares for the ball.  One room featured a naked model contorting her body around a roped off space.  Along with the open bar and the blatant promotion from Voss Water, appetizers were being served by waiters.

Donna grabbed a small sandwich as the nude model went into another pose and ate it.  She sipped a martini.  "It's nothing I've seen before."

"Where _have_ you seen that before?"

Harvey shrugged.  " _Playboy,_ the Playboy Channel.  Anywhere where you can find porn, really."

Harvey continued to look at the nude model. 

She yawned.  "I'm bored.  Can we go to another room?"

"As you wish, but I wouldn't mind staying in here."

"No, Harvey.  Let's go."

 

The next room Harvey and Donna stopped in was a room with a huge picture frame in it.  At the bottom of the frame were the words _Ce n'est pas,_ painted in the style of the lettering from Magritte's _The Treachery of Images._

"I think we should have a souvenir of this not-really-a-date, Harvey," Donna said as she watched people walk behind _Ce n'est pas_ and had their pictures taken.

"I don't do souvenirs."

"We can take this picture, I can keep it, and the only time I'd pull it out is if I needed to blackmail you for something, like my yearly Halloween day off."

"Okay.  Agreed."

Harvey and Donna stood in line to take a picture with the _Ce n'est pas_ frame.  Harvey's eyes scanned the room as the photographer took their picture with an instant camera.  Donna assumed he was still looking for naked girls, even if they weren't there at the frame.  Meanwhile, Donna smiled the best she could for the picture. 

The photographer gave Donna the picture after he was done.  Donna knew, upon looking at the picture, that this was what she wanted.  But she knew couldn't have it yet.  The timing wasn't right.

And then it hit her: Donna wasn't sure if the timing would ever _be_ right. 

 

"This is a 30 minute speech, right?" Donna whispered to Harvey at their table.  The person being honored at the Tribeca Ball had already accepted his recognition for being a patron of the Tribeca art scene.

"I think it is."

"He has five minutes left."

"If you thought this was bad, last year's ball was worse.  It was during the heat wave.  All the windows and doors were open.  Half the people there ran to get Voss water at the bars while everyone else rushed outside to smoke.  It was madness."

Sure enough, five minutes later, the speech ended and music began to play. 

"Would you like to dance, Donna?"

Donna gave Harvey a smirk.  "Dance?"

"This is a ball.  You're my date.  Why wouldn't we have at least one dance?"

"Okay.  But we never did this.  Ever.  You have to promise."

"Okay.  We never did this."

Donna and Harvey got up and danced to the slow song blaring through the sound system. 

"You're a really good dancer," Donna whispered to Harvey.

"There's not a lot of room in the office for dancing, and if I did do it, either Jessica would call me out on it or Louis would film it and put it on YouTube.  It's much safer if I do it in places like this."

They were quiet for a while, their bodies swaying in time with the music.

"I always dreamed I'd be at a ball dancing with someone."

"The man of your dreams?"

"Yes.  But he's not here tonight."

"Oh."

 

Traffic was slow after the Tribeca Ball ended.  Donna's cab ride with Harvey would be a long one.

While the cab slowly rode through traffic, Donna imagined grabbing Harvey's hand when the cab reached her apartment complex.

"Why are you grabbing my hand?" Harvey would say.

"Aren't you supposed to have a post date nightcap?" she'd respond.

Donna would pay the cab driver, and the two would walk up to her apartment.

Donna wanted to be the one in charge of their encounter.  They'd be sitting down and there'd be music playing on a stereo.  She thought Harvey would love Wayne Shorter, so she'd start off with _Night Dreamer_ , and, if the night progressed, maybe _Juju_ and _See No Evil_ would follow.  Then she'd follow up with a couple of glasses of red wine and some witty banter. 

And then she'd kiss him, slowly.  She'd fiddle around with his tie with the biggest grin until the tie fell onto the floor.  Slowly, she'd push Harvey onto her couch and then quickly unbutton his shirt so she could get to his chest…

But Donna knew in her heart that a nightcap with _Night Dreamer,_ red wine and sex couldn't happen.  No, it wasn't the informal no sex policy at Pearson Hardman.   The end of the evening, when Donna arrived at her apartment, was the end of the evening.  That was it.  Tomorrow morning she'd go through the metal detectors at Pearson Hardman, go up to her floor, go to her desk and work as if nothing had happened.  Harvey didn't love her the way she loved him in her head.  This night reinforced that, although she was hoping for a different outcome.  Maybe the outcome would be different…some day.

After several minutes, the cab arrived at Donna's apartment.  Donna stepped out of the cab.

"Good night, Harvey."

"Good night, Donna."

"See you at work tomorrow."

"You too."

Donna closed the cab door and prepared to listen to Wayne Shorter, alone.


End file.
